(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called on Iraqi Interior Minister Falah al-Nakib to do everything in his power to facilitate the release of journalist Waël Issam, of the Dubai-based satellite television news station Al-Arabiya. Issam was arrested at Baghdad International Airport on 28 March 2005. Noting that the authorities have not given a valid reason for […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called on Iraqi Interior Minister Falah al-Nakib to do everything in his power to facilitate the release of journalist Waël Issam, of the Dubai-based satellite television news station Al-Arabiya. Issam was arrested at Baghdad International Airport on 28 March 2005.
Noting that the authorities have not given a valid reason for arresting Issam, RSF voiced surprise that he is being held in an Interior Ministry facility with individuals detained for non-political crimes, even though “it remains to be established that Issam committed any crime.”
“At the time of his arrest, the Iraqi police seized videotapes of footage recently shot in Iraq. Jawad Kadhem, a journalist with Al-Arabiya’s Baghdad bureau, quoted Issam as saying the footage contained nothing that could have prompted such a reaction,” RSF said
“We know that Al-Arabiya executives and Issam’s mother are in contact with the Interior Ministry in an attempt to obtain his release. We turn to you today because of the urgency of the situation. Issam’s detention should be ended. It seems to us to be unwarranted in a country that wants to demonstrate its commitment to development and democracy,” RSF added.
Issam’s release would also help ease relations between the Iraqi authorities and foreign journalists working in Iraq, the organisation noted.
